Student Nurse

DISCUSS THE HISTORICAL EMERGENCE OF THE TERM LEARNING DISABILITY

Learning disability is a relatively new term (Gates and Beacock 1997) which was preceded by the name mental handicap. It was introduced to the UK by the Department of Health in 1992 (Scottish Association of Mental Health 2002). It is not an international term and in the USA learning disability is referred to as mental retardation or intellectual disability (Spender et al 2001) and likewise by the World Health Organisation (WHO 2001).

The terms idiot, imbecile and feebleminded were originally the terminology used to describe people with learning disabilities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Brigham et al 2000). Before this time there is not much information probably because of high mortality in very disabled children (Mencap 2002). However the term 'village idiot' would have historically accounted for the individuals who survived their childhood years.

During the industrial revolution people moved away from rural areas to cities where those with learning disabilities were seen as non-productive as they were too slow to keep up with technology. Also with women finding it increasingly difficult to find work through legislation, the family members with learning disabilities were just another mouth to feed.

When the poor laws of 1834 were introduced asylums were built in which to house people who were deemed at the time 'feeble minded, imbeciles or idiots' for lifelong care. By the early twentieth century the learning disabled were viewed as a threat to society requiring segregation. The thinking at the time also segregated males and females to prevent sexual relations as it was presumed that offspring would inherit mental degeneration (Brigham et al 2000). Historically it was felt that these individuals would infect the general population and the British race would be contaminated. This was the eugenics movement, introduced to prevent the deterioration of the race. The eugenics theory began in the 1860's and in 1908 the Eugenics Education Society was formed. When the mental deficiency bill was going through parliament MP Josiah Wedgwood, one of only three who opposed it, said 'our object as politicians is not to breed the working classes. Our object is to secure justice for everybody' (Brigham et al 2000). Even though it introduced compulsory certification of what it viewed as 'mental defectives' (Kenworthy et al 2002) it was the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913 that was the building blocks of the legislation we see today.

The eugenics movement stayed popular until the end of World War II when the Nazi horrors of the holocaust are thought to have brought about the turning point and instead much debate was commencing on civil liberties of those detained.

When the NHS began in 1946 the asylums became hospitals although there was still no distinction between mental illness and learning disabilities until the 1959 mental health act when the feebleminded became the mentally handicapped. This act introduced the idea of care out with the hospital setting introducing day hospitals and abandoning compulsory certification (Kenworthy et al 2002). Around this time the National Association of Parents of Backward Children (NAPBC) came into being. Initially parents set it up in order to promote education for all and better community care, and as their children grew up it later included people of all ages. The stigma of having relatives who had learning disabilities began to wane, as many members of the NAPBC (now known as Mencap) were from the credible middle classes.

In 1971 a government paper called 'Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped', was produced after a series of scandals in the 1960's. This was the forerunner to care in the community and stated that it was expected that by the year 1990 half of all residents of 'mental handicap' hospitals would be living within the community. Since then the hospitals have closed and steadily transferred care to the community.

It was during the 1980's that the idea of 'normalisation' was introduced. This is the belief that people with learning difficulties are a worthy part of our society and should be entitled to the same rights and experiences as any other person (Chandler 1991). Before this time the medical view was that people with learning disabilities were sick whereas the social view of families and the individuals themselves felt that their role was realising their own potential. The National Health Service and Community Care Act of 1990 introduced a change in the way services were provided.

Although a small number of people with learning disabilities require residential care, most now live almost independent lives, with as much or as little assistance as they need. They are no longer ineducable, they attend schools and further education colleges, gain paid employment and take part in leisure activities. The learning disabled have a valuable part to play in our culture and with the right support they should be able to achieve their goal of total social inclusion.

At this moment in time learning disability is defined by WHO (2001) as 'a condition of arrested or incomplete development of the mind characterised by impairment of skills and overall intelligence in areas such as cognition, language and motor and social abilities'. <


Back to Assignments

page last updated 11/06/05

Copyright © Lynda Luke 2001 Lulu34 2001-2005 All Rights Reserved ©